Stand Your Ground
by Team Ninja Bug
Summary: A Trapinch is driven from her home by a vicious storm and forced into a forest filled with deadly Galvantulas that want nothing more than to devour her. Will she be able to survive or will she be eaten alive by ravenous spiders?
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Stand Your Ground  
 **Rating:** T, mostly for blood and language  
 **Genre:** General  
 **Summary:** On an isolated island where giant spiders rule as apex predators, a storm forces a Trapinch off her sandy beach home into the surrounding, Galvantula-infested forest. Out of her element and incredibly vulnerable, can she survive long enough to evolve and escape the island?  
 **Author's Comment:** Decided to share this story here. It takes place on the same island Popcorn the Joltik, from my other story, is from. I hope you guys enjoy this!

* * *

 _Chapter 1_

3 years living basically on your own on a savage island ruled by giant spiders.

Many might find the notion difficult, if not impossible, but she was born into this environment. To her, this is just the way life is and you just have to make the best of it. Really, it's not too bad once you get the hang of things.

With the full moon looming high above her, the Trapinch pauses in her search for a new spot to make her new hunting pit to scan her surroundings for danger.

All around her are the hunting pits of other Trapinch; she's always wary with every movement she makes whilst up on the surface. She's well aware that her species are indiscriminate with what prey falls into their pit and will even eat their own kind. Hell, she herself has indulged in a few of her trapped brethren in the past…

Speaking of which, she is starving. It's been weeks since her last good meal, and she plans to make this hunting pit huge, to better the chance of something slipping in. The best time to do that was nightfall, when the cool beach air was just right, as well as being a time where your chances of running into a Galvantula was somewhat reduced. Being caught out of the sand by a Galvantula is pretty much a death sentence and she shudders at the thought of slowly, and leisurely, being eaten alive…

Fuckin' sickos, that's what those spiders were. Trapinch never made their prey suffer once they dragged the victim under the sand. A quick snap of their insanely powerful jaws could cleave any small Pokemon in half, no matter their armor; in fact, they're one of the only Pokemon on this island that can eat even Steel- and Rock-types! Personally, she preferred biting off her victim's head. The sooner they're killed, the better, as there's always the chance of getting injured in a struggle.

Snapping out of her thoughts about food, as that's only making her stomach yawn hungrily, she continues her work, pushing herself backwards through the sand, half buried. The sand accumulates over her head, which she tosses every now and again with an upwards flick of her head. A distinct furrowed pattern in the ground has formed from her work, giving her kind the rather deceivingly endearing nickname of 'doodlebug'.

She pays no mind to her artistic talents, as she's focused on feeling out the condition of the sand. To the untrained eye, all the sand here is the same, but to a Trapinch, it has to be just right. In the most ideal condition, the sand should be finely grained and stable enough to maintain the conical shape of the hunting pit, but still unstable enough to give way under the feet of a struggling prey item.

It's a pretty time-consuming task, finding these right conditions. Competition over space can get quite fierce.

Stopping her backwards movement for another moment to once more scan for danger, she sees nothing of concern. A few other Trapinch building new hunting pits here and there, some Wingulls and Pelippers resting on the calm ocean surface… and some dark clouds gathering on the horizon…

Staring at these clouds intently, our Trapinch sniffs the air to find the familiar scent of storm clouds. Probably another electrical storm, as those are common here, but it's always best to play it safe, just in case it rains…

So much for filling her empty stomach. Looks like she'll have to postpone her hunting for another day…

Pulling the rest of her body from the sand, she glances at the gathering clouds one more time before starting to dig, this time with her forefeet. Burrowing deeper and deeper, she makes sure to leave enough room for her to turn around, as she needs to clog the entrance tight with sand. It has to be able to seal out any water.

Burying herself deeper and deeper, filling in the empty space behind her as she goes with more sand, she eventually comes to a stop. This should be deep enough to avoid any rain that'll seep through the ground. Shifting and making herself comfortable, she settles in for a nap. Might as well take advantage of the storm to catch some extra sleep, safely tucked underground and out of sight from all danger…

* * *

Pain. The first thing she notices as she wakes from her slumber is a hell of a lot of pain. All across her back and on top of her head was the deep burning agony. Forcing her eyes open, she sees she's still buried in sand… sand that's now wet.

Jolting, the little Trapinch doesn't know what going on. She's nowhere near the shoreline and no rain should be able to penetrate this far down. But it is, somehow, and it even seems to be seeping further down yet! She has to get out of this death trap!

Instinctively, she tunnels upwards, towards the surface. The wet sand pains her as she moves, but she knows that she has to get out of the ground and if she can endure the pain long enough to understand the situation, then she could plan a course of action!

Breaking the surface, she holds in a cry of pain as heavy raindrops, heavier than she's ever experienced before, falls upon her exposed head. Gusting winds going at violent speeds rages all around her, enough to bend the trees of the nearby forest. And the ocean….

Huge waves crash upon the sandbank, much further down than the waves and tide usually reach. In fact, a surge of frothy white water is charging for her right now!

She doesn't even have time to retreat into her burrow, much less barricade the entrance, as the wall of water crashes over her. Burning pain wracks her body as the wave floods her burrow and pulls her violently from the sand. She can't breathe, she can't even see, as she's sent tumbling, tumbling further down the shore.

The pain.

The pain is almost too much for her to bear and as the wave dumps her back on the sand as it recedes, she can barely keep herself conscious.

She has to get off the beach…

That's the only thought running through her pain-riddled brain. She has to get away, now, or else she will surely perish! Her body shaking, she forces herself up on her stubby four legs, said legs sinking under her weight into the wet sand.

Her eyes focusing on the nearby forest, she tries to hurry to it as fast as she could. Every movement, every step in the soaked ground brings yet more burning pain, the rain dropping down onto her not helping in the slightest. Her vision is growing increasingly blurry as consciousness becomes harder and harder to hold on to.

She has to make it.

A deep rumble can be heard behind her and she doesn't need to look back to know that yet another wave is chasing her!

She tries to move faster, but the sand makes it difficult to accelerate and she almost falls forward onto her chin at times. She feels the burning of more water as the surge rushes past her, engulfing her once more in its painful grasp.

Tumbling again, she's sent further down the beach, eventually settling on the wet sand once more.

Her body remains motionless for a brief moment before she coughs out some water. Her body trembling in sheer agony, she almost doesn't want to move. She almost wants to give up right here and now. But she refuses this and forcing open an eye, her blurry vision is greeted with the greens and browns of the forest.

Almost there.

Trying to stand, she only gets half-way before she sinks back down. No, she won't let herself die here. She's so close to evolving, and she can't let Death take her just yet! And so, she drags herself inch by inch towards the forest. Although the rain is merciless, at least the waves aren't reaching her. And once she gets to the forest, she can find shelter and rest her agonized body.

Finally, after what seems like a torturous eternity, she feels the sand beneath her give way to leaves. It's an unfamiliar sensation, but she couldn't care less as she takes a moment to rest from her ordeal. How she just wants to slip into the blackness…. The sweet blackness where she can escape the pain….

No, not yet. She has to find shelter. Although the canopy does shield her from most of the rain, there are still heavy droplets here and there. And surely, any predator that comes across her body in the open would take the opportunity to indulge her flesh.

So shakily, she pushes herself on, towards a hollow tree. It's more than large enough to shelter a Trapinch like her, and it seems strong and sturdy enough not to uproot from the wind.

There. Breathing heavily from her exertions, the Trapinch finally reaches the tree and collapses on the bed of leaves and moss; it takes everything she has not to lose consciousness. No, as much as she wants to, she can't as she hears a hiss coming from above her the moment she entered the tree's threshold.

Looking up, she can barely make out the outline of another Pokemon. It's spiky, and huge, with four long legs bracing it on the walls around them. Her heart stops as she recognizes the figure.

Galvantula.

Of all the things she has to share this shelter with, it was the one predator on this damn island that can kill her. She should leave, but as she glances towards the outside world, the _wet_ outside world, her weary body doesn't budge from its spot. Looking back to the Galvantula, she opens her jagged jaws to hiss back at him. If she's lucky, her little threat display will encourage the spider to leave instead.

But no, the Galvantula growls and sparks, the blue light giving her more to work with in terms of identifying her 'room-mate'. He's a young spider with teal-colored eyes, his wet fur making him appear a bit smaller than usual despite his show of intimidation.

A show that doesn't seem to work as the Trapinch sharing his tree opens her jaws wider. In such close quarters, a fight with this Trapinch will be fatal, despite her obviously weakened state. So he doesn't engage; instead, climbing a bit higher up the trunk to a safer distance. A disgruntled grumble can be heard from him.

Knowing that they've just reached a shaky truce, the Trapinch returns her attention outside. The gusts of wind that makes it inside the tree brush against her soaked body and she shudders at the cold. As if that's what she needed to add to her troubles: not only is every inch of her Ground-type body agonized from the rain and waves, and not only does she have to share this tree with a sociopathic arachnid, but now she should add potential hypothermia to the list.

Shaking her weak body as best she can to get as much burning yet freezing water off of her as possible, she feels dizzy from the movement and rests her massive head on the ground below. She can hear the Galvantula shifting above her, but she ignores him as the blackness starts to return, once more offering her a chance to be free of her pain.

She doesn't want to accept it. With her 'shelter-buddy', she'd rather not lose consciousness. But the choice is not hers anymore as her exhausted, burning body makes the decision for her and she slips into unconsciousness, hoping beyond hope that she will wake up again…

* * *

Yet more pain is what greets her.

Not only is her body aching from her exertions and not only is there still the lingering burning sensation from the water that previously drenched her, but now she has a deep stabbing pain on her side. And it gets worse as something sharp pierces her flesh and starts tugging.

Yup, that did it. At this agonizing sensation, she reflexively jolts her head up towards the source and hisses explosively. The young Galvantula that has been nibbling at her flesh backs off with his own hiss, some blood matting the fur around his mouth.

Shakily getting to her feet, the Trapinch keeps menacing the spider as she backs deeper into the trunk, purposely cornering herself to protect her vulnerable body. The Galvantula is standing outside the tree, the storm having long passed and his fur now dry. He was hoping to catch a quick bite to eat, but unfortunately the comatose Trapinch wasn't as helpless as he'd thought.

Making a mock lunge, he jumps back as she snaps her jaws at him, remaining glued to her spot. She knows what he is trying to do with the move: get her to charge at him and expose herself in the open, where the spider's superior speed and agility will give him the advantage. Well, she's not having any of it, and after a few more mock lunges, each met with only a snap of her jaws, the Galvantula huffs and turns to walk away.

There's easier prey out there anyway.

Relaxing just a little, the Trapinch wants to go back to sleep, but the pain on her side needs attention. Turning her head, she sees the small gouge in her side, bleeding quite a bit. But it's not as bad as she thought it would be; luckily she woke up before hefty damage could be done. Shifting closer to the wooden wall, she presses her wound against it to stop the bleeding, wincing in pain as she did.

After a few minutes, she pulls away and turns back to the outside world. The rain seemed to have stopped and the wind is now nothing more than a gentle breeze. Forcing her aching body to move forward, she cautiously peeks out to make sure the coast is clear.

There's no sign of the Galvantula.

Sighing, she wonders what she should do now. She's injured, tired, and oh-so-very hungry. She couldn't stay here, as the Galvantula might come back and she certainly won't find food by sticking around. She should go back to the beach. Hopefully, the waves will have calmed down by now.

Limping out of the tree, she stumbles her way towards the beach. Her small eyes, although dreary, remains open to scan for danger as she moved. Luckily, she meets no obstacle as she reaches the border of the forest, beholding the beach…

It's practically in ruins. Littered all over the place are branches and logs and other remains of smaller trees. What wasn't covered by forest debris was instead covered with debris from the ocean. Seaweed and washed up Tentacool… as well as the drowned bodies of other Pokemon. She sees many of them are small Pokemon, no doubt blown away by the strong winds into the ocean and then swept back ashore by the current.

Perhaps she can indulge in the feast, regain her strength? Perhaps she can find a clear spot for herself afterwards, build a new pit? Perhaps she can clear some of the debris if she can't find a spot? She wonders if her weakened body will be up to the task.

Stepping onto the sand, she immediately pulls back with a cry of pain. The sand was still wet…

Her eyes moving back and forth between the wet sand and the beckoning beach, the Trapinch doesn't know what to do. She can't handle any additional pain, but the forest is not an ideal spot for a Trapinch. She wonders if maybe, she can find a dry patch of sand somewhere on this island…

Who's she kidding? She has nowhere to go. She should dismiss these stupid hopes and bring herself to reality. She has to go back into the forest, at least until the sand dries back up. Hopefully, she'll survive long enough.

Turning back, she stumbles towards the forest, passed her hollow tree, into the great unknown depths…


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2_

Whenever she took the time to envision what the deep forest was probably like, this isn't exactly what she imagined…

Granted, she can't judge it on its messy appearance, given that it's just been ravaged by a vicious storm, but she still had expectations. Like the high number of Pokémon that must reside here. With all the noise the forest tends to make on a daily basis, especially at dawn and dusk, she expected it to be teeming with life. But so far, she has yet to meet a single soul, outside of that one damn Galvantula…

Perhaps they're still holed up in their shelters? But the storm ended ages ago; surely they've all come out of hiding. Or maybe the storm killed almost everyone and she's one of the very few survivors left…

That thought scared her more than any Galvantula did. If that's true, then what's she expected to eat?! And… and…

Never before has she realized how much she relied on the other Trapinch. As a rule, her species are naturally solitary, hardly ever interacting with each other despite being forced to live in close proximity. But she still took comfort in their mere presence, in the knowledge that she's not alone and that there's others of her kind nearby. She can't help but wonder if any other Trapinch has survived and is out there, somewhere…

Hell, she'll take comfort from Pokémon of another species, just so she can assure herself that there's life! Even if she plans to eat them, it's still something!

But as it is, there's not a single peep, her surroundings eerily quiet except for the rustle of leaves under her feet.

Stopping her trek by burrowing inside a massive pile of debris, hoping her exoskeleton will be camouflaged in case that spider comes snooping around, she gives her body a much-needed rest. She's never moved so much in her entire life, her three years spent mostly stationary except when the time comes to make a new hunting pit. Her small legs are unused to so much activity, and the injury on her side has been adding its own protest to the list, sending deep stabbing pain through her side with each step she took.

What's she supposed to do from here?

The thought entered her mind and swam about restlessly, demanding attention. Well, what she wants right now is food, but how's she to go about acquiring it? Obviously, looking for corpses isn't working, as whatever other predators are left out there has apparently beaten her to it. If she does find someone alive and edible, how's she expected to capture them? There's no way she has the speed or endurance for an active chase.

Her instincts urge her to dig a pit, but she knows better. The dirt here isn't fine enough, isn't soft and unstable enough to make a pit. Besides, with how many trees are around, she doubts there'll be enough room to dig a proper pit, and the ground must be riddled with tree roots.

Perhaps she can hide here, ambush any passer-by? That sounds like an excellent plan and she is about to settle with it, when her stomach issues its complaint with a particularly loud and painful grumble. She needs food, as soon as possible, and staying here is not good enough! She can end up waiting for days! If she expects heal properly, to evolve and get off this island anytime soon, then she needs to chow down on some poor fool's face!

Grunting, she decides to compromise with her stomach. Staying here, she'll conserve energy by giving her body some much needed rest. If anything comes by during that time, she'll have a go at them. If not… well, she'll just have to move on.

Closing her eyes, she tries to ignore any other protests her tummy makes and tries to go to sleep. Sleep will pass the time, heal the body. Hopefully, by the time she wakes up, everything will be okay…

-

Vibrations through the ground are what wakes her, vibrations that almost has her instinctively raise her head straight up into a nonexistent hunting pit above her. No, instead, she opens her eyes and sees, a few meters in front of her, a mother Raticate and her Rattata pups. Common prey, but she's not one to complain about what's on the menu.

Staying as still as possible, she can hear her heart racing with excitement in her ears; finally, there are signs of life! Wonderful, beautiful, delicious, and tasty LIFE! Her stomach growls eagerly…

The mother Raticate freezes, her pups noticing and following her example. Our Trapinch stiffens.

 _'Please don't leave, please don't leave. You heard nothing, you stupid rodent. Just keep doing what you're doing, please. Double please, triple please, JUST DON'T FUCKIN' LEAVE!'_ her thoughts begged, her voice not daring to speak these thoughts aloud. She sees the Raticate scan her surroundings, her ears moving to and fro, her body tense and ready to spring…

Finally, after a long moment filled with anxiety from both predator and prey, the mother relaxes and continues foraging. Her pups again follow suit, nosing whatever their mother does and sniffing her mouth whenever she does come across food.

The hidden Trapinch follows them with her eyes, her mouth opening slightly. They're slowly inching closer to her pile of debris, and she mentally beckons for them to close the distance more. One of the pups unwittingly follows her silent directions and starts wandering towards her debris pile, big eyes filled to the brim with curiosity. No doubt, he's hoping to find his own food like a grown-up; unfortunately for him, our Trapinch is intent on making him regret wandering off…

Once she feels he's wandered close enough, she springs into action. Completely ignoring the pain in her side, she lunges at the pup with jaws wide open. The little Rattata jumps on reflex, squealing with panic as he lands atop her head. Instinctively, the Trapinch flicks her head up, flinging the little guy off of her and into the debris. Her jaws snap, hoping the flick would bring her jagged teeth in range to grab her prey, but she only meets air.

The young Rattata scrambles at the debris, gaining a foothold to leap over his predator. She snaps again, barely missing his vulnerable underbelly as he sails over her. Landing on the ground, he scrambles away with the rest of his family, leaving the Trapinch empty-handed.

That whole thing lasted only a few seconds.

Watching as the undergrowth settles from the family's retreat, the Trapinch feels another soft growl well up inside her, this time coming from her throat rather than her stomach. Damn it. If she was in her hunting pit, they wouldn't have gotten away so easily! Oh well, complaining about it won't change things…

Sighing, she turns her head to see her wound. The pain has grown exponentially with that attack and she sees that it's starting to bleed again. Looking about her shelter, she doesn't see anything she can press the wound against and she pulls herself free of the debris to walk to a nearby tree. Pressing her side against it, she is wondering which direction she should go from here when the bushes begin rustling again.

Freezing, she wonders if she'll have enough time to retreat into her pile of debris, set up another ambush if this happened to be more potential prey…

Instead of something tasty, however, a leg covered in ragged yellow fur steps out, followed by the rest of the giant spider. This arachnid is quite a bit larger than the young one from before, his eyes an icy light blue color. The Trapinch feels her heart begin to race again, this time in sheer panic. She's out in the open and she hopes against all logic that the predator won't notice her…

Yeah, right; how can she not be noticed?!

She sees the Galvantula's eyes sweep the area before settling on her. She sees those same eyes widen slightly, no doubt surprised to see a Trapinch in the forest. He was drawn here by the young Rattata's squeal, with the hopes of stealing a snack from a lesser predator. But the Trapinch is so much more interesting….

With slow, cautious steps, the spider advances on her, not even pausing when our Trapinch hisses at him. Her eyes dart back and forth between the predator and her pile of debris, which seems so far away now. She knows that there's no way in hell she'll be able to run to it fast enough; the Galvantula will overtake her in a second. So instead, she pulls her side from the tree and backs her rump into the trunk. She has to protect her little body at all cost…

The Galvantula keeps advancing slowly, ignoring her loud warning hisses. At a certain distance, he stops and changes course, circling around her. He's hunted several Trapinch before and he knows their instinct is to keep their jaws pointed at him at all times. He plans to use that to get her away from this tree.

And indeed, the Trapinch turns to face him as he circles around, pulling away from the tree when he gets behind the trunk. Backing away, she keeps gaping and brandishing her jaws, even as she glances back at her pile of debris. Perhaps she can back into it before the Galvantula attacks…?

The spider reappears from behind the trunk, eyes locked intently on her now standing in the open. He glances at the spot she once stood, sniffs and licks the patch of blood she left on the tree. His eyes darts back to her, scrutinizing her before spotting the wound on her side. A small smirk starts growing on his face.

Panic takes hold of the little Trapinch then, and she scrambles backwards as fast as she can. The spider shoots a white substance from his mouth at her, the threads aimed right for her muzzle!

Instinctively, she jolts back to avoid it, rearing up on her hind legs and raising her head higher. She feels the wet cold threads attach to her chest instead and before she can even lower herself back to all fours, the spider yanks hard on the web, pulling her off balance and causing her to fall forward with a grunt. Within a brief second, she feels the spider leap upon her, and she bucks her head back, jaws snapping. But she feels the spider's pedipalps grab her muzzle and force it back down to the ground. She feels the spider's weight on her snout, feels him place his front-most legs onto her head to hold her down. She feels more webs wrapping tightly around her jaws, keeping them closed…

Sheer and utter terror races through her, and she lets out a muffled scream, thrashing her head as best she could. But she can't dislodge him and she tries to pull back, her feet scrambling at the dirt. But the spider doesn't relinquish his grip on her, his claws hooking into her and his cold expression never changing as he begins to wrap more webbing around her neck, her chest…

If she allows him to wrap up her legs, to immobilize her, she's finished…

Against her very instincts telling her to pull away, she instead goes for a surprise maneuver and rushes right into the Galvantula. He doesn't have time to shift his grip or position to accommodate this unexpected change. Feeling her head slam against his underside, she Bulldozes him to the ground, the spider stunned by the move for a brief second.

That's all she needs to rush towards her pile of debris, throwing herself into the opening she burrowed in previously and scrambling to get inside. She hears the Galvantula recover back to his feet and she knows that she has to get inside or she's dead. Pulling herself in, she barely manages it just as the tarantula reaches her. She sees him peek inside at her… and he begins pushing himself through the entrance.

The Trapinch tries to growl, but all that escapes her is a whimper. The spider pulls himself deeper and deeper…. And then stops. His bulbous abdomen won't let him go any further. Snorting softly, he pulls himself back out and the Trapinch feels a spark of hope…

Hope that shatters very quickly when the Galvantula starts pulling her debris pile apart, hoping to clear it and reach his prize.

Her heart going so fast, she's afraid she'll pass out, the Trapinch knows she can't make a run for it, but she can't stay here! Instinct once more takes over and she begins digging as fast as she can, her forefeet racing to make a burrow large enough for her to squeeze inside to safety! It's pretty much a digging race, her forefeet clearing the dirt versus the Galvantula's pedipalps clearing the debris above her.

Finally, just as light from above breaks through and the Galvantula lunges in jaws first, she hurls herself into her hastily made burrow. She feels sharp teeth clamp themselves into her left hind foot and she cries out in terror. Anchoring her forefeet as best she could against the Galvantula's vicious tugs, she feels his teeth pierce her exoskeleton, she feels warm blood seeping from the wound down to her leg, she feels the flesh beginning to tear…

Shifting position to face him as best she can, she lifts a forefoot and kicks dirt right at the Galvantula's face. This prompts the arachnid to release his grip and she turns around the rest of the way to get her body out of his range. She backs her rear into the burrow's end and looks up as the Galvantula peeks back in at her. He reaches in a pedipalp and she tucks her head down to block the burrow with her cranium.

She feels his soft fur on her head, the sharp claw under the fur scraping at her shell. But she's too smooth to get a grip on and he glares at her with growing frustration. Finally, after a long moment, the Galvantula backs away, disappearing from her sight.

She waits anxiously for something to happen, but nothing does. More than ten minutes pass and still there's nothing…

Although it's obvious that the spider has given up and left the scene, she still doesn't budge from her hiding spot for the rest of the day…


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter 3_

Midday, and most of the Pokémon are currently resting in their nests, away from the heat. The low, persistent droning of the island's Bug-types fills the air, as is usual around this time of day. But on this occasion, it's a bit different, in that this noon chorus is joined by the sound of loud and desperate whimpers.

Said whimpers are coming from our Trapinch; she is currently dragging her snout across the ground, trying to remove the webbing from around her muzzle. She's been fighting to get the stuff off for quite a long while now, with nothing to show for it. The web is tied too tightly, the sticky threads glued to her snout. Really, her efforts are only gathering dirt and leaves, making a mess on her face.

She's tried to paw it off, but her short little forelegs simply can't reach it. She's been scraping it against trees, boulders, the ground. But it's simply not coming off! Several times, she's seen other Pokémon wandering about, or flying above, and it adds to her distress, knowing that she can't even TRY to eat any of them because of this stupid web!

Not only that, but the pain in her side has gotten worse, aggravated by her scuffle with the Galvantula and from her thrashings to free the web from her snout. Her left hind leg is pure agony, the bite left behind bleeding every time she puts weight on it. It gives her a very pronounced limp whenever she moves. And don't get her started on how much her stomach is demanding food. The stupid organ seems to be on the verge of digesting itself, if she doesn't fill it up with SOMETHING! Hell, even the leaves and dirt are starting to look appetizing to her…

But of course, she can't even eat the leaves and dirt, BECAUSE THIS STUPID FUCKIN' WEB WON'T GET THE HELL OFF OF HER! At this mental outburst, she gives a muffled, frustrated scream and thrashes violently with no real purpose, only intensifying her agony and wearing her down even faster.

Her struggles and thrashes dying quickly as she exhausts herself, she feels her injured leg shudder and she collapses into the leaf litter. Her angry growls turn into miserable whimpers. What little energy reserves she has is being wasted on this stupid web. Without her jaws, she can't feed herself, can't replenish that lost energy, and she can't give her body the fuel needed to heal. Without her jaws, she can't really defend herself from whatever predators are out there. She knows that if she crosses paths with another Galvantula, she's pretty much a goner.

Everything imaginable is going against the little Ground-type, it seems, and it's almost enough to break her spirit…

What's the point of going on…?

No, she hastily shakes that thought from her head. She can't give up. She's come such a long way in her short life. If she gives up now, then all her efforts to survive on this island will be for nothing! She reminds herself that she could evolve at any moment now, and then she can fly free of this prison and live life to the fullest, as she's meant to. She's destined to become a fuckin' DRAGON, for pete's sake! All she has to do to become that beautiful, badass dragon is keep pushing on, keep staying alive, long enough to accomplish that.

She'll find some way to get this web off. Maybe she just has to keep on trying to scrape it on something. Or perhaps what she needs to do is find some way to soften it, like… wash it off…

The thought of seeking out water fills her with dread, especially with what happened the last time she encountered the painful fluid. But maybe, just maybe, the water can break this stuff down, or at least loosen it, and then she'll be free! She'll gladly endure the burning agony in addition to all her other trials and tribulations, if it meant that she won't starve to death or be at the near-complete mercy of predators.

Her new goal hardening her resolve, she lifts her snout off the ground and sniffs, searching for any scent even hinting at water. There's the scent of the general forest, of leaves and earth and compost. She can smell other Pokémon in the wind, as well as her own blood. But there's something somewhat familiar intertwined with the other scents. It's like the ocean, but much less potent and doesn't have the salty edge. This must be water.

Giving a painful groan as she stands back up, her injured leg shaking with protest under her weight, she starts following the scent. It's new, trying to find water. She got all the moisture she needed from her prey, and so never had to seek it out on her own. She's got quite a long walk ahead of her, she's sure; she never was a fast Pokémon to begin with and now she has her injuries and general weakness slowing her down even more. But she fights on, focused on taking one step at a time with her eyes fixed a single point in the distance.

When she succeeds in arriving to said point, she focuses on a new one. This tree, that tree, just keep going forward, keep following that scent. Pain? What pain? There's no pain, just ignore that! Just ignore the way each step feels like it could be your last…

Her injured leg is steadily losing strength and threatening to buckle the further she goes. She really should take this trip a little at a time, with pauses in between to recover. But she doesn't stop to rest, feeling that if she does… she won't be able to get back up again…

* * *

Tired. So very tired…

She must've been moving for a couple of hours by now, although to her it feels so much longer, and not a single stream or lake to be found. She doesn't know how much longer she can go like this…

Her injured leg has given out on her a couple of times and now she keeps it off the ground completely. It slows her down even more, having only three legs to support herself. Her eyes no longer focused on the distance beyond, instead staring dazedly on the ground below her. Her breaths are heavy and if it wasn't for the web holding her mouth shut, she would be panting from sheer exhaustion.

The only good thing is that the heat beating down on her doesn't affect her like it does the other Pokémon. To her, the high temperature is actually quite comfortable.

But this one good thing does nothing to cheer her up. She just keeps going, absent-mindedly following the scent. If she bothered to notice, the trees around her are starting to thin out. Above her, the canopy is covered in thick web, silk bridges spanning the space between trees. Large white cocoons hang from the branches.

Dark shadows can be seen in these cocoons, as well as on the branches themselves. The shape is familiar, and if she'd seen them, she probably would've turned tail and went the other way.

She's stumbled upon a Galvantula nest, one of many on this island. Luckily, the residents are still sleeping from the heat, and those that are awake merely looks down at their 'visitor' with sleepy eyes. Although these sleepy eyes sharpen with predatory interest, the spiders don't move down from the trees to confront her. Their instinct to rest during this time of day is stronger than their need to kill this easy prey.

Let her pass for now; the heat will fade in another hour or two and from the looks of it, she won't be going far anyway…

As she leaves these nests behind, none the wiser, her foggy mind does start to notice that the smell of water is getting stronger. The trees are thinning out more until she eventually arrives at a small clearing. She again doesn't notice that more web coat the branches of the surrounding trees…

And this time, the residents are far from sleepy…

"TRAPINCH!"

She can't help but look up a bit at that shout and she spots tiny little yellow critters scattering from the clearing and retreating to the trees. Joltiks. Not even a mouthful, but she would've gone after them anyway, if it wasn't for her current situation. No, instead she refocuses her eyes back to the ground and keeps trudging along slowly. She can hear the little ticks mutter amongst themselves from their hiding places, but she ignores them.

"M-miss… Are… are you gonna be alright…?" She hears one of them ask her, but she again ignores them.

She can't stop for anything.

The scent of water grows stronger and stronger, allowing a spark of hope to shine through her exhaustion and agony. Eventually, she can hear the sound of a running stream, even through the sound of her heavy breaths and the sound of rustling leaves. And low and behold, beyond a few small bushes, she sees her goal beckoning to her. Never has she been so happy to see water.

Limping towards it as fast as she could, forcing her injured leg to work for her to get her there all the sooner, she stops at the bank, looking down at the stream that might as well be burning lava to her. But however villainous water usually is to her, she knows this is a heroic moment for the liquid to prove itself as more than just a source of pain. Bracing herself, she lowers her head slowly, dipping her snout into the liquid.

Her body immediately jerks her head back out, a cry of pain coming from her throat. She shakes the moisture off her skin as best she could, before mentally reprimanding herself. She HAS to do this, she has to endure the pain. Looking back at the water, she gives a whimper and tries to will herself to do it again. But it's noticeably harder this time, now that she knows how painful it is. Come on, stop being such a weakling. It'll be over fast, just a few minutes to let it soak the web and break down the glue…

Dipping her snout under once more, she fights the reflex to pull away, her body twitching. She submerges her jaws down until the web was completely submerged. Her whimpers evolve into soft sobbing noises as the pain begins to chip away at her. Just a bit more…

It hurts so bad…

Finally, she jerks her head away. She doesn't know how long she's had to endure that torture, but it felt like hours! In reality, it was less than a minute…

Backing away from the water, she feels her legs buckle under her and she collapses on the leaf litter. Soft crying noises emerges from her, her body shuddering. She tries to lift a forepaw to rub the burning away, but she can't get herself to move anymore.

But she's not finished yet. She has to try to rub the web off while it's still wet, or else she'll have to do it all over again! She tries to get up, but if she can't even move a foreleg, getting herself to stand is out of the question. Her body desperately needs rest, and fine, she'll give it some rest; but she doesn't want it to be in the open, more vulnerable than she already was. She needs shelter of some sort.

But still, her body refuses to move, not to be reasoned with.

So there she lies. She's next to certain that this will be the end of the road for her. At this point, ANY predator is a legit threat to her, weakened as she is. If they stumble upon her now, she can't do anything to stop them from killing her. At best, she can only hope that whatever predator does end up finding her, let it be one that can end her quickly…

And as her eyes grow too heavy to keep open, she sees, as her vision blurs, the bushes near her starting to rustle slightly. One might dismiss it as the wind, but she catches the briefest glimpse of yellow fur. Her mind immediately goes straight to 'Galvantula', and as everything fades to black, she can't help but give a distraught whimper.

So much for a quick death…

* * *

For the briefest of seconds, some semblance of consciousness returns to her weary mind. Then fades... then comes back...

She doesn't remember what happened at all and for a moment, she can almost imagine herself in the snug confines of her burrow, back on the beach. She can almost imagine herself getting ready to start the day with a new hunting pit, made huge and proud by her own hard work. She can almost imagine herself having an amazing breakfast because of it.

Almost. Because pain is what breaks her illusion. The leaves and dirt beneath her feels nothing like her burrow and although she does feel something draped over her, it certainly isn't sand.

Her consciousness slowly edging closer to wakefulness, she feels a yawn starting to happen, and expects the feeling of her jaws meeting the web's resistance. But there is no resistance and she opens her jaws freely. It's enough for her to force open her eyes and glance towards her muzzle. The web is completely gone. She blinks with weary confusion, and her eyes dart towards the object draped over her. It's white and silky and sparks with blue flashes of electricity. How…?

It quickly comes back to her: the rustling bushes, the yellow flash of fur. A Galvantula has found her unconscious body. This… blanket must be to deter other predators from eating her. It still doesn't add up, though; wouldn't it make more sense to wrap her in the web, so she wouldn't be able to get away? And why remove the restraints around her jaws? Did the Galvantula assume she was already dead and didn't need to be bound?

Either way, she should get away while she can, whilst the Galvantula's gone. Shifting, she winces at her aching body, and from her injuries. But wait… something's off there too. Shouldn't she be in even worse condition? Has the Galvantula not eaten any part of her yet? And why does it feel like there's something tied around her injured leg…? And there's something sticking to her injured side…

Before she can even lift her head to check, a soft rustling from the bushes makes her heart skip. Has the spider returned? Before she can conceive of doing something, a few blue Oran berries roll from the bushes, followed by a couple of Joltiks...

Food… Less than bite-sized, but food nonetheless!

Closing her eyes, she feigns unconsciousness, hearing them come closer and closer. But before they got within biting distance, they pause. Our Trapinch feels her frustration skyrocket, feeling as though she's being taunted. It takes quite a bit of effort to wait for the Joltiks to come closer with the berries, her body tensing painfully…

They must've noticed, for she hears them actually beginning to back away.

Gathering what strength she has, she lunges in their direction, snapping her jaws. The Joltiks leap, her teeth barely brushing against fur. Her heart already drops the instant she misses, even before the little ticks retreat. She watches them disappear through the bushes and she slumps with pitiful whimpers coming from her throat. She's so very hungry, and she had a clear shot at them, and she still came out of it empty-handed…

At this, her eyes dart to the berries. Well, maybe not entirely…

She's never had any sort of plant before, and she's next to certain that it won't provide her with much, if any nutrition, but if it'll give her even the illusion of filling her stomach…

She ravenously snaps her jaws at the berries, scooping up some of the leaf litter and dirt along with it. But she doesn't care, and although she winces at the nasty taste in her mouth, she gulps down the mouthful, berries and dirt and all. Looking about, she spots more berries around her and she forces herself up onto her three uninjured legs.

Glancing back as she did, she sees that there is web wrapped around her injured leg, bandaging the wound. Another patch of web is covering the gouge on her side… Why would the Galvantula-?

It was the Joltiks, she realizes. It was the Joltiks that followed her, that found her unconscious body. They must've removed the web on her snout, patched up her wounds. They must've tucked her in a literal security blanket, in the form of the electrically-charged web still draped over her back. They helped her…. They helped a predator like her! She doesn't really understand why; what benefit was there to saving her, protecting her whilst she was down and helpless? She herself has devoured many Joltiks in her three years of life. The idea of one of them being… kind-hearted and charitable enough to lend her a helping hand in her time of need is very, very strange.

Strange and confusing as it was, she can't help but feel a bit bad for snapping at them; she's starving and basically had no choice. It was nothing personal, never had been and never will be. Oh well, what happened can't be changed and she should take what advantage she has right now.

Limping to the other berries, she is more careful scooping the fruit up in her dirt-covered jaws. She still doesn't like the taste, even if it's mostly earth flavored from the dirt rather than the actual juice, but she swallows each and every one down before scanning her surroundings. There aren't any more berries in sight, and she can't help but feel a bit disappointed. Well, at least it took the slightest edge off her hunger and it seemed to have helped regain some of her strength. Which is good, as it's nearing dusk, and she should move on from here. She still needs to find real, adequate food for herself, and better shelter, and she knows she won't find it here. So she starts hobbling off, away from the water and away from the Joltiks' care.

She still keeps the blanket, though. The blanket is awesome.


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter 4_

Her energy reserves are running dangerously low, and berries just aren't cutting it…

Digging through a berry bush, our Trapinch is desperately looking for even the smallest ounce of food she can find. It's been a full 48 hours since leaving the stream, leaving the Joltiks, and she has yet to capture any prey. Strangely, her stomach hasn't been complaining as much as usual, and although that's a relief, it can't help but worry her. Hunger means her stomach is working; is it beginning to give up on her?

She's also noticed that she's been feeling so tired lately. But every time she took a nap, she found it increasingly difficult to rouse and drag herself from her temporary burrow. This also worries her, and she wonders how much longer she can go before she falls asleep, and finds herself completely unable to move upon waking. She wonders how much longer she can go before she doesn't wake up at all…

Shaking those horrible thoughts from her head, she tries to reassure herself that she'll find food before it gets to that point… somehow…

Well, one thing's for sure, she wasn't finding any food here. Abandoning the fruitless bush, she sighs and continues limping along. Her injured leg seems in slightly better shape, now that it's bandaged and she's been allowing it to rest. Sure, it's not healing as fast as it should be, given that her body's more focused on staying alive on reserves rather than healing, but a little is certainly better than nothing. As long as it's strong enough to carry her through this cool night, she's satisfied.

She shivers slightly, noticing that she's getting cold more easily. Possibly has something to do with her dwindling fat layer, not as much insulation. Thankfully, she still has her Electroweb blanket draped over her body, and it helps in keeping the heat in. The sparks erupting from her blanket also casts a soft blue light around her; it was actually quite helpful in letting her see the darker corners of the forest…

She catches sight of movement from one of these said corners, near the small hollow of a tree. Freezing, our Trapinch can hear a soft rustling sound coming from the hollow and she slowly inches closer to it. The sound stops, and she freezes. She doesn't know what's in there, but her predatory instincts have kicked in and she's intent on devouring this… thing, whatever it is.

The rustling sound resumes, unaware of her presence, and she tenses, shifting her weight a bit, positioning herself. Her eyes are locked on the hollow's opening and when the rustling stops again, she makes her move.

Lunging forward, her hunger and weariness shows when she miscalculates the size of the hollow and her jaws lodge half-way into the tree. A panicked screaming sound comes from the tree, as well as a distinct crackling of a Thundershock. Of course, our Trapinch is unaffected, although she still doesn't like how she can't snap at her prey. Pulling and tugging, she has a bit of a hard time getting free of the tree and she has to brace her forelegs on the trunk to gain enough leverage to pull herself from the hollow.

Stumbling, her eyes catch a small round figure fleeing from the hollow and she snaps for it. The little critter, a Dedenne, jumps away and scrambles into a nearby burrow. Our Trapinch feels a soft smirk tug at the edges of her mouth; perhaps she'll finally get her meal. Confidence rising, she hurries over to the burrow as fast as her injured leg will let her and turns her head to allow an eye to peek inside. She can see the Dedenne's whiskered face and panicked expression and she grunts before pulling her head away to dig at the burrow entrance.

The Dedenne immediately starts screaming again, realizing that her underground haven is of no real obstacle to the Ground-type. Turning away from the Trapinch, she hurries towards one of the emergency exits. She'll have a better chance of escaping by running away…

The Trapinch keeps digging, following the burrow's path before more movement catches her eye. Glancing over, she sees the Dedenne pulling her round body from a nearby exit. Gathering her strength, she lunges at the dormouse, intent on snatching her before she manages to pull free entirely. But this is foiled when another Pokémon swoops in and grabs the Dedenne in its talons, impaling the little thing and killing her pretty much instantly. It takes off just as our Trapinch's jaws snap mere centimeters from it.

Feeling her teeth meet air rather than flesh, the Trapinch looks up to see a Noctowl flying off with HER prey! How…? Where…? Why…? Her patience pretty much snaps at that point…

"YOU KILL-STEALING MOTHERFUCKER!"

Growling explosively, she snaps her jaws at the leaf litter beneath her feet, shaking her head savagely as if to kill some imaginary target before throwing the leaves back to the ground. Her growls intensify into a full-on shriek of rage and frustration, her forelegs stomping violently before she bites off a chunk of the ground. Shivering, she forces herself to calm down and sits back on her haunches. Her mouth's still full of dirt as she sits in silence for a long while.

The forest around her has fallen silent as well, as if not wanting to reignite her anger. Finally, she opens her jaws to allow the dirt to fall free before taking a few deep breaths. The night isn't over yet and she still has the chance of finding something of substance to consume before she heads to sleep come dawn.

Forcing herself back to her feet, she scans her surroundings before picking a random direction and heading off once again.

* * *

They say desperate times call for desperate measures. She believes she understands that statement now…

Tucked hidden in the bushes, staring hungrily at the screaming and bleeding Pichu, our Trapinch doesn't know what to do. This Pichu is the first thing she's found edible since losing that Dedenne to that stupidass, piece-of-shit Noctowl the night before, and her instincts yell at her to go get it. The only problem? A Galvantula is the one eating this poor soul…

Throughout her entire life, she's been utterly terrified of these arachnids, but she notices that her fear isn't as strong as it used to be. Granted, she's still well aware that these monsters can and will kill her, but she's so desperate for food that this particular Galvantula doesn't seem so intimidating anymore. Her state of starvation is driving her to take bigger and bigger risks, knowing that this is pretty much do-or-die; if she heads to sleep on an empty stomach tonight, she's next to certain that she won't be waking up again…

The Galvantula is a young spider, and she knows that means this one will be easier to intimidate. Perhaps, she can… 'convince' this bug to give up her prize, or at least share a piece. Her sense of self-preservation pretty much gone, our starving and desperate Trapinch emerges from the bushes and opens her jaws with a loud hiss.

The Galvantula looks up from her meal, her eyes narrowing at the Ground-type's approach. It's a strange sight, seeing a Trapinch in the forest with an Electroweb blanket draped over her, and this brings a brief moment of confusion on the young Galvantula's part. But seeing the Trapinch advance with eyes locked directly on her food, the greedy instincts, notorious in her species, overcome her confusion and she hisses right back. Stepping forward to stand over the Pichu protectively, she bristles her fur and sparks in her own show of intimidation.

Our Trapinch is undeterred, her eyes glancing back and forth between the spider and her intended target. Opening her jaws wider, her hisses increase in volume and she rears up on her hind legs, careful not to put too much weight on her injured limb.

This display gets a falter from the Galvantula, the young one not too certain in her ability to take on a Trapinch. She has yet to learn what to do when facing one and she never expected this encounter to happen. But she stands firm regardless, bowing forward and raising her abdomen to make herself look even bigger to the intruding Trapinch.

It doesn't work.

With neither of them giving ground in this bluffing competition, our Trapinch makes the first move and drops back to all-fours to charge with her jaws wide. The Galvantula jerks away to avoid getting bitten, leaving the Pichu unguarded for just a second. That mere second is all the Trapinch needs as she stops short of the Galvantula and instead snaps up the screaming mouse. At once, the spider's greediness kicks into overdrive and she lunges forward, her own jaws clamping onto the Pichu's ears.

The rodent's screams grow even louder as he finds himself in the position of the rope in this tug-of-war match. The two predators are relentless in their grip, pulling and yanking and trying to get the other to let go. His pain is unbearable, but it's soon to come to an end…

Knowing her rival will not relinquish the Pichu, our Trapinch tightens her jaw muscles and neatly cleaves the young mouse in half. Blood spills over the scene, the Pichu's screams snagging on a sickening gurgling sound. With her prize, our Trapinch hurriedly begins to back away towards the bushes, hoping to retreat safely to finally enjoy her long-awaited meal.

But she's not to escape so easily, as the Galvantula's instincts to defend every little bit of her resources causes the spider to give chase and jump onto the retreating Ground-type, jaws fastening onto her nape. The Trapinch screams, letting go of her half of the Pichu and snapping the air in an attempt to catch the spider. She struggles, but the spider does nothing to release her hold and instead pulls our Trapinch to the ground.

However, the spider's inexperience shows as she makes the mistake of placing one of her legs within biting distance. The Trapinch takes advantage of this and clamps her jaws onto the limb, her teeth pushing passed the thick fur and exoskeleton and into flesh. The Galvantula screams in pain, trying to pull her leg away, but the Trapinch keeps her grip stubbornly. The arachnid lashes out, clawing and biting at the antlion's face and back, frantically trying to get free.

After a few seconds, the pain from the Galvantula's panicked struggles proves too much and our Trapinch releases her captive. Said captive wastes no time in backing off, snatching both halves of the Pichu and retreating towards the trunk of a tree. The Trapinch pursues her and although the spider's limp is more pronounced than her own, the tarantula still easily outspeeds her and climbs out of reach. The Trapinch watches as the spider pulls herself, and the Pichu remains, up onto a thick branch and glares down at her, growling. The Ground-type growls back as she moves to the trunk, leaning up and placing her forelegs onto the bark. But there's no way she can climb and after a few half-hearted attempts, the antlion abandons her efforts and backs off the trunk.

Shaking her head to rid some of the pain, she walks off, pausing only to pick her fallen blanket up in her jaws. There's a noticeable slump in her posture as she moves off into the bushes.

Her efforts, wasted once more…

* * *

She doesn't know where she's going, nor does she particularly care. She doesn't care whether she should try to head back to the beach, hoping the sand is now dry enough to allow her residence; hell, she doesn't even remember how to get back in the first place! Being on an island, she needs only to go in a straight line and she'll come across a shoreline, but she doesn't even make efforts to do this.

She gives up…

The sun will soon rise, marking yet another full 24 hours without a meal. She doesn't prepare by digging out a new burrow to nap in, though; she's too tired and defeated to do that either. What would be the point? She doesn't care about living to see the end of the week; she doesn't care about living to even see her much-anticipated evolution.

She just wants it all to stop… She wants the world to stop taunting her with prey that'll always escape her no matter how close they come to her jaws. She wants the world to stop hurting her body, hurting her spirit. She just wants the pain, the hunger, the failure to stop…

Wandering aimlessly through the forest, amidst a tangle of Electrowebs, she thinks solemnly about her life, trying to remember what things were like before this nightmare began...

She hatched under the warm, golden sand with her brothers and sisters. She's never seen her mother's face, and she only had the company of her siblings for a mere moment as they dug upwards from their nest, towards the surface. From there, they scattered from each other, to make their very first hunting pit.

Her life was a simple one: chill at the bottom of a pit for a few days, eating whatever falls in there. Repair the pit of the damage her prey caused. Build a new one every so often when the pit is simply too damaged, or when it needs improvement from the last design. Make it bigger when she's starving, make it small when she's not all that hungry. Occasionally, some Pokémon would fall into her trap when she wasn't hungry at all, and she would kindly throw their asses out of the pit, shaken but alive…

How she'd give everything to have that luxury once more, to decide that she's too stuffed from her previous victim to bother killing the next.

Sometimes, her daily routine would be interrupted by a special event around a certain time of year. She would see massive shapes homing in from the sky towards her island, landing gracefully onto the sandbank. She remembers the awe she would always feel when she sees the bright green creatures with eyes hidden under red goggles. She knew by instinct that she's destined to be one of them someday…

Now look where she is. Starving, tired, weak, agonized, and utterly alone in the middle of the forest. For the very first time in her life, she wonders what her mother might think of her, if she saw her now…

She knows what she thinks of herself. Pathetic and feeble. Quite a contrast to how she felt about herself just a few weeks ago, safe and confident in her underground home back on the beach. She went from being a strong, fearsome predator to being utterly unable to even scavenge a living, struggling every hour of the day just to stay alive…

It's simply not worth it anymore.

And so she keeps walking aimlessly, unaware and uncaring of whatever dangers she might bump into. Whether she ends up walking into the ocean and drowning, or falling off a cliff to her death, or wandering into a Galvantula's nest to get eaten alive, she doesn't give a shit…

Hell, she can't even get herself to cry anymore…

Yet, crying is still what breaks through her somber thoughts. A loud cry, echoing just ahead of her. But she doesn't look up from the ground, nor does she even acknowledge it. She's tired of being taunted, and she won't fall for Fate's cruel tricks again.

Trudging onwards, she eventually finds the source of the distress calls: a Zigzagoon caught in the Electrowebs. Upon seeing her, the small critter cries even louder, trying desperately to get his paralyzed body to move. But strangely, the Trapinch just keeps walking, showing no interest in him. Let him go, she doubts it'll help anyway. Death is better…

No.

She comes to a stop. She's still alive, she's still breathing, she's still moving! Sure, at best the trapped Pokémon would only give her some extra time, but that time could very well mean the difference between dying as a pitiful, self-loathing soul or living to accomplish her dreams. She used to be such a strong-willed bug, and it's that strong will that got her this far to begin with.

She's not dead yet, so she should stop acting like she is.

Glancing back to the tangled tanuki, she forces her weary body to change course, to turn around. Hobbling over to the Zigzagoon, she stares at him, into his dark brown eyes. She sees the fear, the tears, but also the life, the vitality. It shall be hers soon, and she will not waste it…

"Thank you…" she whispers softly, both to the Zigzagoon and to the powers that be that's allowed her this mercy.

Lifting her head, she bites into the Electroweb holding the raccoon-like creature. Electricity surges harmlessly through her body as her powerful jaws severs each thread with ease until her prey falls limp and paralyzed to her feet. She doesn't allow the Zigzagoon to suffer, taking his head into her jaws and slicing right through his neck in flawless decapitation. Blood pours onto the ground, onto her, warm against the cool night air.

Her stomach finally breaks its silent treatment and practically screams at her to eat. She can't hold in her elation, purring loudly as she takes a huge chunk from the body. She pauses for only a second, as if expecting something to interfere, - it wouldn't surprise her if that asshat Noctowl made a return and snapped up the body-, but there is nothing and she swallows her mouthful whole. It is such a wonderful sensation, one she's almost forgotten, as the slab of meat and bone slides down her gullet into her grateful stomach.

She devours everything on the body. Fur, bone, teeth, and claws, all of it is consumed indiscriminately, until there's nothing left but a bloody patch on the ground…

She eats that bloodied patch of ground too! Nothing is to be wasted, even if it tasted disgusting.

Sniffing and nudging the leaves on the ground, just to make sure she isn't missing anything, she licks her chops, sits on her rump, and grooms the blood off of her as best she could. She's careful of her new injuries on her face; they're shallow and not dangerous, but they still hurt like hell.

Then, getting back up to her feet after allowing her meal to settle for a few minutes, she starts digging out her new temporary burrow, purring softly as she does so. When the den is large enough for her, she wanders to the Electroweb that previously held her meal. She proceeds to take the web apart and use it to line her burrow with nice soft bedding. Then, taking her blanket on her back in her forepaws, she folds it snugly around herself and delicately lays herself down.

Careful not to settle directly on her now-full tummy, she takes a moment to relish that warm feeling of digestion before she drifts off into the best nap she's had since this whole mess started.


	5. Chapter 5

_Chapter 5_

She's not alone…

Opening her eyes as she hears and feels the vibrations of someone moving just outside her den, the little Trapinch wonders if this could be another opportunity to feed. Although she's no longer starving, she knows that she needs to take advantage of every opportunity to eat that she can; who knows when or, more likely, IF she'll get another chance again. Plus, with her condition, she needs to eat more than usual.

Shifting up onto her feet, she moves slowly towards the opening of her burrow, trying not to make a sound that could alert her potential prey. If everything goes well, she'll lay in ambush by the entrance and lunge out to catch her food. But when she gets to the surface, she freezes automatically.

There's a Galvantula just outside her den…

She wants to retreat back into her nest, to safety, NOW but her body refuses to move, knowing any further movement from her might attract the spider's attention. It's best to just lay low, rely on her camouflage to pretend she isn't here and hope for the best. She wonders if she's up for a fight should it come down to it…

The Galvantula doesn't seem to notice her, thankfully, his eyes fixed on the empty space that once held an Electroweb. This is very strange, having a large web disappear overnight like this, whilst all the other webs surrounding it remain untouched. It's clear another Pokemon had something to do with this, probably pulled the web from its support lines and allowed it to be blown off by the wind, or perhaps taking it themselves.

But who would do that? No Pokemon in this forest outside of their own kind should be able to touch these webs without suffering the consequence. Well, there is a rumor going around that a Trapinch has left the beach and is out there somewhere; perhaps this is her work?

Or maybe there's an intruder to the island? A Ground-type, or strong Electric-type…

Doesn't matter, for now. Regardless of who or what did this, instinct urges him to repair the damage first and foremost, and he proceeds in gathering the broken threads and stray patches of the Electroweb from the trees and ground. He wraps these into a tight bundle with his pedipalps before he brings it to his mouth and… begins to eat it?

Web is edible? The surprised thought enters the Trapinch's mind and she blinks. She had no idea eating web was ever an option, or even safe to do; although she's immune to the electrical charge, it never seemed like a good idea to eat strange stringy material designed to tangle. But apparently, the stuff isn't just safe to eat but had enough nutrition in it to warrant the spider taking time to devour it.

Interesting…

Not moving an inch, she watches as the spider busily begins to rebuild another web, climbing up the tree and spitting a thick line of silk from his mouth all the way to another tree. Pulling it taut and attaching the thread to the tree he's on, the Galvantula ruffles the blue fur at the end of his abdomen before sticking more silk to the bark and moving with ease across the already-anchored thread. The silk is trailing from his abdomen behind him and when he reaches the opposite tree, he attaches the other end, the new thread draping loosely between its anchors.

Heading back onto the taut thread, his balance is impeccable as he stops midway, leaning down to take the looser thread and attaching more silk to it from his mouth. That accomplished, he jumps down to the ground directly below and attaches the third anchor to the ground, forming a neat triangle from the thread. But he's not done as he climbs back up the tree and starts attaching more support threads.

Once he's made the radial spokes, he moves to the center and starts spiraling out more lines of silk. But these ones glow blue and spark dangerously as they're attached. Several tight spirals of this stuff is made until finally, the web is complete, spanning across the entire open space between the trees.

Climbing off the web, the Galvantula scans over his work before more electricity sparks from his fur. A quick Thunderbolt shoots onto the web, adding even more charge than usual in an attempt to discourage that web-thief. Satisfied, the Galvantula hurries off back towards his society's main nest with particular haste and intent…

Our Trapinch remains tense until the arachnid disappears, and waits a few minutes after that just to make sure he won't come back. Sighing, she feels her body loosen up and she backs up down the tunnel into her main chamber. Turning to her nest, she stares at the web for a long moment before making her decision. It's time to move on and find a safer place to take her next nap, but first…

Taking the webs that served as her bedding, she follows the Galvantula's example and begins rolling them up into a bundle. She's careful not to include her Electroweb blanket and sets it aside; she's grown too attached to just discard it. Once the bedding is all rolled up in a nice and neat little sparking ball, she sits down and stares at it with uncertainty. But, with just a slight hint of hesitation, she scoops up the web into her mouth, grimacing automatically.

It actually doesn't taste like anything, really…

The texture's strange too, almost like she's eating nothing but very long soft fur, and she feels her mouth becoming confused as to what the hell she's eating! But it's not too unpleasant and after an uncertain moment where she tries to decide whether she likes this or not, she swallows the ball of web.

It takes its time going down her throat, the Trapinch pawing a bit at her neck to help ease it along. Probably should've coated it with more saliva. Grunting a bit as the web finally settles into her stomach, she gathers up her blanket and heads up the tunnel back to the surface. Scanning her surroundings to make sure no other Galvantulas were going to show up, she limps off to continue her journey.

* * *

Things are finally starting to look up for her.

Staying close to the Electrowebs, it's been a couple of days since she left the burrow, and she seems to be getting better. Her wounds are finally beginning to heal properly, allowed to rest quite often as she naps within the safety of her temporary burrows. Not only that, but she's been following these sparking webs and she finds this new tactic to be extremely rewarding! Already, she's found several other trapped Pokemon, many of which she ate. When she was feeling peckish for a snack and actual prey wasn't available, she'd eat the webs themselves.

Of course, being so close to these death traps (and raiding what's essentially the fridge of her most fearsome predator) is not without risk. Already, she has had to hide in her burrow from four separate Galvantulas, the arachnids patrolling the webs for prey only to find themselves fixing whatever damage she caused. Even from her burrow, she could see the growing frustration on their faces…

But what other choice did she have? Without the help of these webs, she's certain that she would've died. And it's not like she's planning to do this for the rest of her life; she's already searching for a beach to settle in as she's sure the sands must be dry by now. Hopefully, the patience of her unwilling hosts won't run out before she reaches her destination…

Waking up comfortably in her newest burrow as darkness falls outside, our little Trapinch stretches with a yawn, wincing only slightly from the pain of her injuries. Unrolling herself from her blanket, she grooms for a moment before having a snack of her Electroweb bedding. It occurs to her that she's already fallen into a rhythm, as if she's finally adjusted fully to life in the forest. But even so, she can't wait to return to her own environment, in the nice cozy sand.

She almost purrs at the thought and it motivates her to get moving. Finishing up her treat and draping her blanket onto her back, she heads out the burrow and sniffs the air. Through the scent of the forest is the faint hint of saltiness from the sea. The trek has been slow and steady, but she's definitely getting closer. Determining the direction in which the scent is most potent, she resumes her travels through the forest. Although she still limps, there's a noticeable spring in her step. If she's lucky, she'll make it back home, -her true home-, by the end of the night!

Although stopping for the occasional snack won't hurt…

Slowing to a halt, our Trapinch eyes a figure caught in an Electroweb, muffled cries coming from it. The creature has its back to her and it is very dark in color, blending into the night even with the faint blue glow of the web, and our Trapinch cautiously moves closer to take a look at her potential meal.

It's a Honchkrow, tangled helplessly with webbing tied around his beak to silence his calls for help. She's never eaten a Flying-type Pokemon before; they tend to be immune to her pitfall traps. The closest she's come was snagging a young Ducklett once, only to get a faceful of Water Gun from the angry mother. Took the whole day to get rid of the burning…

But this bird is completely helpless and ripe for the taking. She'll be stupid not to take the opportunity and try something new! Plus, her evolution is growing closer and she should gorge herself in preparation for the change.

Rising up onto her hind feet, she bites into the web holding the raven, the avian giving a muffled cry and screaming incomprehensible words at her. No doubt begging her not to eat him, but she pays no mind as she removes the rest of the webbing and the Honchkrow falls to the ground. She goes to bite off his head, but he yells even louder and tries to break through his paralysis, succeeding only to twitch. He's screaming fearfully and trying desperately to get her to heed him, but his words are too muffled for her to understand. She does notice that he doesn't even seem to be scared of her, as he keeps staring with terror not at her, but at something behind her…

Her instincts tell her something's wrong and she can't help but glance back…

She sees something white shooting right for her and she throws herself out of the way. She watches in horror as the web instead attaches to the bird and a particularly dangerous-looking voltage surges through the bird, killing him ruthlessly. Looking up, she only sees a flash of yellow, blue, and purple fur before she feels a heavy weight on her.

A Galvantula has pounced on her, and it's in that instant when she realizes what the Honchkrow was trying to tell her: the whole thing was a trap.

Thrashing violently, our Trapinch manages to squirm away from the spider, hissing and displaying her jaws as she scurries backwards. But her threat proves useless as the spider begins forming a strange green glowing ball and launches it right at her! She again tries to throw herself out of the way, but she doesn't move fast enough and feels the attack meet her side. She screams as she's thrown back by the force and gets the wind knocked out of her when she collides with a tree.

She barely gets anytime to recover as the Galvantula ruthlessly pounces on her again, beginning to wrap her in silk…

Oh no, not this again! She'll be damned if she allows this to happen to her a second time! Gathering her strength, she repeats the method that got her free last time and Bulldozes the spider. The Galvantula stumbles as he's pushed back, but doesn't fall over. Instead he nimbly jumps away a safe distance and glares at her. She glares back, growling as she tries to ignore the pain from the Energy Ball attack.

The Galvantula begins to spark yellow electricity, no doubt preparing a Thunderbolt… which confused our Trapinch; why would this spider use an electric attack on her? But the electricity isn't aimed for her and instead it shoots straight up into the sky, the light it produces intense enough to engulf a huge chunk of the forest.

But this only confuses the little Ground-type even more. What's that about? She doesn't want to find out, and she makes another attempt to retreat backwards. The Galvantula shoots another green ball at her and she manages to dodge this time, the energy only just brushing passed her. She makes an attempt to dig her way out of here, but the Galvantula spits web towards her, forcing her to stop and get out of the way.

It's at this point where the panic really starts to set in. She can't escape, she can't hide, and in the open like this, fighting will be useless! The Galvantula will just outmaneuver her and take her down… And her hope only fades more when another spider arrives at the scene. Whimpering, she backs herself into a tree, wishing beyond everything that her method of blocking access to her weak-points won't fail her this time…

But alas, she hears something just behind her, on the trunk, and she looks up just in time to see yet another Galvantula pouncing for her. But although she sees him coming, she has no time to react as the spider lands onto her, his jaws clamping on her neck. Screaming, she pulls away, feeling the teeth tear gashes in her exoskeleton. Warm blood trickles down her neck, but she feels no pain as she kicks dirt into the spider's face. The other Galvantulas lunge for her and she frantically Sand Attacks their faces as well, taking the opportunity to make a run for it.

Maybe she can find a hollow tree or something…

She doesn't get far before yet another Galvantula appears from the canopy above and shoots web at her. The threads wrap around her foreleg and she stumbles to the ground. A fifth Galvantula pounces for her and she barely manages to react in time to snap the air in the spider's direction. The offending arachnid jumps away, the Trapinch's teeth barely missing her.

Scrambling back to her feet, our little antlion turns her panicked eyes from one spider to another. Yet more Galvantulas are appearing, on the ground, in the trees. She's surrounded and she realizes that the Thunderbolt towards the sky has brought in every spider in the area… all to kill her…

There's no way she's getting out of this alive…

Several of the spiders lunge for her rump and she hastily turns to snap at them, only to feel the other spiders take advantage of her distraction to attack her little body. She snaps at them too, but it's hopeless as her predators take turns biting and tearing at her. She tries to fight back, tries to ignore the strong scent of her own blood filling the air. But every snap of her jaws is just met with empty air as the attacking spiders merely jump away.

And the pain, the pure torturous pain each vicious attack brings.

Pain that just proves too much for the little bug to handle.

Feeling her legs give out, she collapses to the ground, her bleeding body shuddering as she cries. The Galvantulas finally stop attacking, watching to see if she had anymore fight left in her. But her troubles are far from over as one of them inches closer, nipping at her, but other than a whimper, the Trapinch doesn't respond. A couple more nips are cautiously applied with no retaliation before one of them determines that she's finished and starts dragging her away from the other Galvantulas. Despite working together to bring her down, sharing the spoils is the last thing on their minds and this one intends to have the Trapinch for himself.

However, the others are not going to let this happen and they are quick to swarm the little Ground-type, greedily pulling at her and fighting amongst themselves. Our Trapinch can't even scream as she's yanked to and fro, and doesn't want to open her eyes to see her own death. The pain is growing as the spiders threaten to pull her apart in their frenzy. Yet, there's this strange sensation within her, a weird warmth that very quickly evolves into sheer burning torture, adding itself to the agony of her plight. It's enough to take control of her body, to snap her out of her stupor, and she makes one last struggle to get free.

She snaps her jaws, this time feeling fur in her mouth, feeling exoskeleton give way under her teeth. There's a copious amount of blood that washes over her face and she feels her teeth meet in the middle. She feels herself get dropped to the ground and she hears hurried footsteps scramble back from her. A heavy object falls beside her and then there's the crackle of electricity before silence…

She waits anxiously for a long second, not feeling anymore teeth and claws ripping holes in her exoskeleton. Eventually, she forces open her eyes and the first thing she sees is the twitching body of a Galvantula beside her, its head missing. The other spiders have wisely retreated a safe distance, eyeing her warily in case she'll find the strength to push the attack further. But she doesn't as the pain growing within her have gotten even worse and she can't help but wonder if eating web had something to do with it… Or maybe the Galvantulas did something. Are Galvantulas venomous?

Regardless of what's causing it, it is showing no signs of easing and she screams as the burning engulfs her entire body, dwarfing the pain of her injuries. It feels like she's been set on fire and she has no idea what's happening to her… at least until a bright white light nearly blinds her and it takes a moment for her to realize that it's coming from her own body…

The light is extremely intense, causing even the Galvantulas to turn away and shield all six of their eyes. The Trapinch's screams echo through the forest for miles, as her exoskeleton is softened painfully by the burning chemicals coursing through her body. She feels her muscles, her organs rearrange themselves and her exoskeleton starts stretching to accommodate the changes within her. She feels the pain of her abdomen growing out behind her to form a tail. She feels the pain as the exoskeleton on her back rearranges to allow the creation of wings. She feels the pain in her legs, her head, every inch of her body until finally, the white light disappears in an explosion of stars.

The torment begins fading, devolving into a throbbing ache throughout her body. Everything feels very strange and when she opens her eyes, the world doesn't look the same. Her vision is much clearer, with colors she never knew existed and with depth perception on a scale she's never had as a Trapinch. She casts a short glance down her body, her brain struggling to take it all in. She had a long tail with diamond-shaped fins at the end, and four large wings drooping from her back.

Her injuries sustained in the struggle prior, although still bleeding, have healed exponentially during the metamorphosis and the older ones on her side and left hind leg have healed completely with only scars there to remind her. And she has grown… quite a bit…

A fact the surrounding Galvantulas did not like, at all. Witnessing the evolution from Trapinch to Vibrava was extremely rare and pretty much unheard of, and none of them knew what to make of the strange looking Pokemon that's now larger than them. She doesn't seem to know what to do either and the two different species stare at each other, waiting for someone to make the next move…

The Galvantulas hiss threateningly when the Vibrava moves slowly to snatch up her Electroweb blanket before she spreads her wings and with a buzz, she rises up from the ground. Rising, rising, she flies up over the canopy and disappears from the predators' sight…

* * *

The feeling of flight… It's amazing.

Our little Vibrava moves through the air, feeling the wind brush against her face, her wings, her antennae. Sure, it hurts a lot to use her wings, her injuries objecting, and her body's exhausted from her ordeal. But it's behind her now, far behind her and it feels great to leave her predators in the dust. No longer will she be forced to stand her ground and fight against her will and fear for her life; now she can just fly above it all with a speed she never had as a Trapinch.

High in the air, she looks down at the island below her, the vast ocean all around her stretching as far as the eye can see. And on the horizon, a mere sliver of a silhouette, is the mainland… her new home. Instinct urges her to go, to leave this dangerous place behind to live her new life. She has just one more trial ahead of her and she wonders if she can make it.

She has to.

Instinctively finding a favorable wind to help make her journey easier, she flies towards the mainland. As she passes the beach, her old beach, she can't help but look down. It's still quite messy but she can see, here and there, several distinctive circular pits in the sand. Seems a couple of Trapinch had survived after all…

Leaving them behind, her eyes fix back to her destination, her wings working with the air current to get her there. It takes a long while, where she almost dipped out of the wind from sheer pain and exhaustion, but her goal is definitely getting closer. Almost there… She's come so far, she can't give up on the finish line. Just keep focusing on it, keep flapping those wings, and eventually…

Collapsing onto the sand, she's gasping for breath, her aching wings limp. Her wounds are bleeding even more now, but that pales in comparison to her elation.

She made it. The sand beneath her… it felt so long since she last felt these fine golden grains cradle against her body. It's wonderful and she just wants to dig into it, make a burrow, a hunting pit, for old time's sake. But no, her body refuses to stand, too exhausted from the journey. She'll recover first, then indulge in the sand.

Something wet brushes her tail and she flinches automatically. Looking back, she sees the ocean caress her exoskeleton… The water doesn't hurt at all…

A soft smile grows on her mouth and she lays her head back down. Even as her vision blurs and darkens, so many things race through her head. Life feels so much different now and it'll no doubt take a while before she learns the ropes, learns what she's now capable of, and learns what it means to be a dragon…

A beautiful, badass dragon…


	6. Epilogue

_Epilogue_

The water laps at the gold shore of the beach, washing up seaweed, shells, pearls, and other treasures of the ocean. None of these treasures are good enough to be a courtship gift, and so are of no interest.

Scouring the beach for anything alive, the young Galvantula carefully maneuvers around the debris and the hunting pits in between said debris. This place is a mess, supposedly from that heavy storm years ago, way back when he was a Joltik. You would think someone would've cleaned the place up by now, honestly. Someone that isn't him, of course…

Looking under logs and bits of kelp, there's no real sign of prey anywhere and he wonders if he should go for a Trapinch instead. He's already eyeing a nearby hunting pit; it's breeding season, and how amazing would it be catch one of these monstrosities for his future beloved? It'll get him a mate for sure!

But how to go about it? He's well aware of the risks and he'd rather not have the tables turn on him; he remembers losing his twin brother to one as a Joltik and doesn't want to face the same fate. But he's seen it done before, when he tried to get revenge on that Trapinch by leading a Galvantula to it… If he were to copy the technique…

He moves to the pit, looking down into it. No sign of the Trapinch in question, and he knows he'll have to lure it out. Following the example of the grown-up he observed so long ago, he runs a pedipalp along the edge of the pit, watching the sand cascade down to the center.

Low and behold, the Ground-type emerges from the sand and he's about to shoot web at its jaws when a fierce wind interrupts. He cringes as he's engulfed in the wind and sand is blown against his fur. The Trapinch blinks with confusion as to what's happening and she sees a large green Pokemon come from the sky…

The spider backs up from the pit as the large creature lands a short distance away, the sand stirred from the intruder's great wings. It's massive, towering over the spider as it regards him with eyes hidden under transparent red goggles. He's never seen anything like it! The creature stood upright on its hind legs, had a long tail, and what looks like scars on its hind leg and side. And there, tied neatly around her upper arm, is a bandanna made of spider web. A small spark reveals it to be Electrowebbing.

Silence falls over the beach as the three Pokemon regard each other. The Galvantula breaks the silence as he hisses defensively and backs away, the Trapinch he once targeted staring in awe at the giant dragon. The Flygon merely stares at the intimidated Galvantula before she flicks her tail, folds her wings, and turns away from the smaller predator without care or concern.

She has important business to attend to.

Moving down the beach, she completely ignores the spider trailing warily a safe distance behind her. She's careful where she steps, as there's hunting pits scattered throughout the beach and she didn't want to ruin the hard work of the young ones…

She occasionally stops to sniff the ground. She wants the spot to be perfect and she's incredibly picky as she scours the beach. Hmmm, this patch of ground seems familiar… She homes in on a specific spot of sand, sniffing and pawing at it a bit. Yes, this was the place where she herself hatched so long ago. This is where her nest should be. Digging intently, she scoops out clawfuls of sand until instinct tells her that she dug deep enough.

Stepping across the hole on all fours, she gingerly lowers herself over the hole and proceeds to lay her eggs. Each white-and-brown striped egg is dropped delicately into the nest, resting against the warmth of the sand. She lays ten in total, although she lingers in position for another few minutes to make sure that's all of them. Finally, she turns back to the nest, looking in at the eggs. Her children.

Hopefully, they'll have an easier time here than she did and who knows, maybe she'll see them again when they've grown into Vibravas. Or perhaps she'll catch a glimpse of them when she returns next year to lay more eggs in this very spot.

A smile grows on her mouth before she finishes the process by replacing the sand over them until there's nothing to distinguish the nest from the rest of the beach. Her job is done and with a mere glance back at her old home, she opens her wings and leaves the island behind with her brood ready to begin the cycle all over again.

THE END


End file.
